FW: [Bcma-l] Guided Tours with Headsets]

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:23:28 -0700

April 14, 2008 

Dear Colleagues:

Back in 1990 we had tape players rented with guided tours.  We came to the conclusion that they may have a place in a static museum situation, but that they took away from the experience at a site like Barkerville.  They are not as free from the need of a human as one would think - they break down, one has to manage them, etc.  We felt the money was best spent having a real person rather than the head set.  

I do see how they might have advantages in certain situations - like the wands at the Egyptian exhibition at Expo 86 - an exhibit with a beginning and an end where someone can be stationed to distribute and pick up the equipment.  But, they are pieces of equipment that you have to drag around, that can become easily lost or misplaced - especially at a place like Hat Creek where there are so many nooks and crannies.  I would think twice before investing in technology that requires servicing, maintenance and accounting, especially in an outdoor situation.  

If you are looking at technology that 'tells you as you go along' then one might consider motion activated devices that turn on when people self actuate it or move past it.  Signage can have the same effect and could be much cheaper in the long run.  If you are trying to achieve ambience with voice overs - i.e. the story told by a worker at the ranch - remember that people have limited attention spans and will only listen for a short while prior to making a decision to move on - unless there is something visual to keep their attention.  There are digital picture frames now that also could be investigated - they can be programmed to rotate from image to image and I would think that a continuous play device could have voice overs for such a treatment.

In general exhibit development, we gage that a sentence or two is the most that one will actually read.  We do have longer texts and some recorded material, but, in general it is no more time consuming than what a general visitor might endure.  We have also utilized some formats that are much lengthier, such as placement of an entire book (laminated and with solid rings for turning pages) of information for those who really want in-depth information that an interpreter would just not have at their command.  However, in terms of getting a message across - a good headline is the best (newspapers are the best examples).

Note that there are also health considerations with head sets - what was in that last person's ear/hair, etc.???  And, not least, will it distract people in the ranch setting - which has horses, wagons, etc., that a person listening to the head set might become entangled with?

W. (Bill) G. Quackenbush, Curator
Barkerville Historic Town,
Box 19, Barkerville, B.C.  V0K 1B0
Telephone: 1-888-994-3332; ex. 25
Fax: 1-250-994-3435
bill.quackenbush@barkerville.ca
visit - www.barkerville.ca for general information

-----Original Message-----
From: bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca [mailto:bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca] 
Sent: April 10, 2008 11:16 AM
To: bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca
Subject: Re: FW: [Bcma-l] Guided Tours with Headsets]

Personally delivered tours are always better (it's pretty tough to ask a 
CD player a question).  One situation where recorded tours could be very 
handy is in the provision of tours in different languages.  The standard 
tour (possibly with the answers to FAQs) could be recorded in German, 
Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, etc.  Given the 
previous comment about difficulties in finding/retaining staff, I would 
think this applies doubly so for staff with second languages.

Mark Sakai
Board Member
Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society

bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca wrote:
> I'm interested to know what you find out about the use of headsets. 
> With our limited staff we find it difficult to give everyone a 
> personal tour around our museum. In addition some people don't want 
> the tour at all, but maybe they would use a headset??? It might be 
> nice to provide another option to our visitors and doesn't necessarily 
> mean that you don't offer tours. Having a pre-recorded tour would also 
> be a good training tool for our summer staff.
>
> Lorna Dishkin
> Bella Coola Valley Museum
> ----- Original Message ----- From: <bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca>
> To: "BCMA-L" <bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca>
> Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 10:43 AM
> Subject: [Fwd: FW: [Bcma-l] Guided Tours with Headsets]
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
>
> I appreciate you comment HOWEVER, staff will have more of an opportunity
> to visit and chat with our visitors.
>
> Sites also need to start recognizing that it is going to become very
> very difficult to find staff, we need to be prepared for the change.
>
> We will always have staff, but need to be more strategic as to how we
> are going to utilize their expertise.Ā
>
>
>
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> Debbie Arnott
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> General Manager
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> Community Futures Sun Country //
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>
> *From:* Historic Hat Creek Ranch [mailto:hhcr@telus.net]
> *Sent:* Friday, April 04, 2008 3:31 PM
> *To:* Debra Arnott
> *Subject:* Fw: [Bcma-l] Guided Tours with Headsets
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> *From:* bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca
> <mailto:bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca>
>
> *To:* bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca <mailto:bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca>
>
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 03, 2008 6:58 PM
>
> *Subject:* Re: [Bcma-l] Guided Tours with Headsets
>
>
>
> We eschew this form of touring as it does not involve human contact,
> also creates a situation where guides are no longer needed, not a good
> message to send to funding agencies.
>
> Live people are best!
>

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